SP to challenge FIR against Azam: Mulayam

Describing Azam Khan, who
has been booked for sedition for his remarks on Kashmir, as a
"true patriot", SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav Friday said he
would challenge in court the FIR against the party leader.

Badaun (UP): Describing Azam Khan, who
has been booked for sedition for his remarks on Kashmir, as a
"true patriot", SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav Friday said he
would challenge in court the FIR against the party leader.

"Azam is a true patriot. The FIR on charges of
sedition lodged against him was on the basis of a channel
report, which Azam has already contradicted," Yadav told
reporters here.

The Samajwadi Party leader said that he would soon
call a meeting of the party to discuss the issue and lashed
out news channels.

News channels "were losing their credibility due to
the news aired by them. If the trend continues, no one is
going to trust them (channels) in future," Yadav said.

On the directive of a local court in Budaun, an FIR on
charge of sedition was registered against Khan on January 18
for his controversial comments on Kashmir.

At a public meeting on December 21 here, about 250 km
from Lucknow, Khan had said Ghulam Nabi Azad is the lone
Muslim Cabinet minister in the UPA government but he is a
"Kashmiri".

"Only one Muslim minister (Azad) is there in the
(Union) Cabinet and that too not of India, but from Kashmir.
That Kashmir, which is still controversial and we don`t know
whether that is part of India or not...," Khan had said.